Swingin' Medallions bring '60s hit 'Double Shot,' varied repertoire to Gadsden Dec. 1

Those attending the Swingin’ Medallions’ concert Dec. 1 at Gadsden’s 210 at the Tracks will of course hear “The Party Band of the South’s” signature song, “Double Shot (Of My Baby’s Love).

But according to baritone saxophonist and vocalist Chris Crowe, the group’s repertoire belies any “one-hit wonder” status.

“We’re very unique,” Crowe said in a telephone interview from Greenwood, South Carolina, the Swingin’ Medallions’ home base. “There’s not a lot of bands out there that can play as many different genres of music that we can, and has a live horn (section) that actually moves and dances and entertains.”

The group’s set list possibilities in its electronic press kit range from Louis Armstrong, Louis Prima, the Drifters and the Platters; to fellow beach music legends the Tams; to soul and rhythm and blues sounds like James Brown, Otis Redding, Percy Sledge, the Temptations and Wilson Pickett; to Eric Clapton, Grand Funk Railroad, Jimmy Buffett, Sly and the Family Stone, the Monkees and Van Morrison; to contemporary artists like Ed Sheeran.

“We try to reach every age group and every genre in one show,” Crowe said. “We’re going to give you a lot of beach, a lot of R&B, good dance and good rock ‘n roll. We just want everyone to come. We’re a clean band, we don’t cuss, we dress nice and we have the live horn section.”

That horn section includes two sons of the late John McElrath, who founded the Swingin’ Medallions in 1962: Shawn McElrath on tenor saxophone (and bass, flute and vocals) and Shane McElrath on alto saxophone (as well as guitar, keyboards and vocals). There also are two trumpets and a trombone.

“We have three original members still left alive, and they come to shows periodically,” Crowe said. “But most of the guys in the band now are second generation or friends and family of the originals.”

The Swingin’ Medallions originated in Greenwood, which lies between Greenville and Columbia in South Carolina, or the adjacent community of Ninety Six, and cut its musical teeth playing in places like Myrtle Beach in their home state, Panama City, Florida; and Birmingham and Auburn in Alabama.

“It’s not a very big city; there are no high-rises or anything,” Crowe said. “It’s a growing city, but is still just a small Southern city. ... We have Lander (University) here, which has a good music program, but a lot of musicians originate from this town for some reason.”

“The Party Band of the South” label was applied to the group by the late author and columnist Lewis Grizzard, a fan who first heard them at a fraternity dance at the University of Georgia in the 1960s. He once wrote that hearing “Double Shot (Of My Baby’s Love)” made him "want to stand outside in the hot sun with a milkshake cup full of beer in one hand and a slightly-drenched 19-year-old coed in the other."

That 1966 recording — actually a cover version of a 1963 release by Dick Holler and the Holidays — reached No. 17 on the Billboard Top 100 and helped propel the group’s album of the same name onto that Top 100 list.

Bruce Springsteen called it “the greatest fraternity rock song of all time” and brought Swingin’ Medallions members on stage to help his E Street Band perform it at a 2009 concert in Greenville.

The listing for the song at AllMusic.com compares it to ‘60s classics like “Louie, Louie,” “96 Tears” and “Wooly Bully.”

Crowe said the group plays about 135 dates a year. They’ve stopped annually in Gadsden for several years and have grown to recognize a lot of familiar faces.

“Very rarely do we see new people coming, so many people have come before and have come back for the music and to have a good time,” he said.

Tickets for both the familiar faces and uninitiated are $25 for individuals and $200 for tables of eight. They are available by phone at 256-390-1181 or 256-490-3062.

Doors open at 7 p.m. on show night and the music begins at 8 p.m.

For more information on the Swingin’ Medallions, visit https://medallions.com.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Swingin' Medallions in concert Dec. 1 in Gadsden